But shewill,I vow as I step back into the Throne Room and see my wife.I’llmake damn fucking sure of it.
Epilogue
Knock, knock.Who’s there?Death.Death who?
Death you.*stabbity stab stab* - Evangeline(head of the Fairy Intelligence)
Somewhere in the dark underbelly of Raza
Standing outside the door of Richard’s suite, I knock on it very politely.I might be here to kill him for all he’s done to fuck up Raza with his idea of “morals” and “humanity”, butone simply does not pass up a good setup for a joke.And I have been waiting to tell this one to someone forages.
“You thought it up fifteen seconds ago, when you were knocking out his head of security,”Aurelia says dryly – the voice of a ghost inside my skull.“You really need to learn to be more patient.”
I am extremely patient,I shoot back.Otherwise, I would have strangled you a long time ago.
She snorts.“Oh yeah?And how exactly would you go about strangling a voice inside your head?I’m you.Just nicer and prettier.”
I’d figure out a way.
She laughs.“If anyone could do it, itwouldbe you.”
I preen.Then frown.Then place my ear to the door to try to figure out if Richard is coming to answer it yet.At the sound of footsteps, I light up again.Raising my hand, I tap my knuckles twice on the wood, this time saying, “Knock, knock!”
The footsteps stop immediately.
I bounce on my feet, waiting for him to call out, “Who’s there?”considering I definitely don’t sound like his head of security.Grinning wildly, I pull out a knife.
But instead ofsaying what he’s supposed to, he yells, “Die!”Then aballof magic smacks into the door, splintering it apart and throwing me back.
The protection runes I tattooed on this body flare as I fly through the air.They eat up most of the damage I would’ve taken, but when I slam into the wall on the other side of the corridor, it still feels like I’ve been kicked off a cliff.
“You father fucker!”I shout as I roll to the side, dodging aredball of magic.As it crackles across the wall, scorching a large mark in thegreypaint, I throw up aglittery, light-blue shield.I surgeto my feet,butI don’t run for the door leading into Richard’s suite.I ram straight through the wall, taking him by surprise.
He spins towards me, screaming like a little boyas dust falls all around me.
But the magic in his shitty premade wand is no match for mine.The runes I use as powerbanks –having fed them with my magic over the last few days– flare red.I reach an arm in his direction, then snap it backbehind me.His wand flies towards me,then past me to clatter onto the floor.
“Fuck you, Richard!You ruined my joke!”I snarl.
“You have the wrong person!”he yelps asheturnsto run away.“I’m not Richard!”
“That’s what they all say!”Raising my hand, I pull him to me this time – or rather, I manipulate the air in front of him to pushhim to me, but who cares about semantics at a time like this?The end result is the same.He flies across the room, his arms swingingmadlyas if hethinks he canswim through the air.He lands in front of me, spins around in fear,and then fallsonhis ass in terror.
“What do you want?I’ll give you anything!Money?You want money, right?Or power?I can give you whatever you want!”
I scoff as I pointedly look around his shitty hobble of a home.If he’s a man with money and power, then I’m a lass with two legs and only one voice in my head.Instead, I have a fucking cool prosthesis and the last remnants of a dead friend haunting my sanity.
“I have connections!”he shouts as he pisses himself.
“I want,” I say as I crouch down in front of him and stareintohis wild orange eyes, “you to say, ‘Who’s there?’”
His mouth falls open.“What?”
“Wrong fucking question!”Grabbing his wrist, I hold up his hand and stab him through the palm with my knife.
Screaming,hetries to shove me away, using his other hand.But I just stab that one too, this time pinning it to the floor.
“Okay!”he shrieks.“Okay!I’ll say it.”He starts to cry.“Who’s...there?”
